Railway vehicle and control method and system therefor, and train control and management system

ABSTRACT

A railway vehicle control method includes: receiving information of a target railway vehicle in front of a current railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle; controlling, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and transmitting the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201910817286.5, entitled “RAILWAY VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM THEREFOR, AND TRAIN CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Aug. 30, 2019, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicles, and specifically, to a railway vehicle and a control method and system thereof and a train control and management system (TCMS).

BACKGROUND

A conventional railway vehicle control method includes performing data fusion on output data of various test sources, such as a video camera apparatus, a laser radar apparatus, an infrared testing apparatus, an ultrasonic testing apparatus, and a global positioning system (GPS) according to working conditions of vehicle operating in different roads, locations, and natural environments and characteristics of obstacles. In this way, complementation of advantages of the various testing apparatuses is realized, detection and warning of obstacles are completed, and a current vehicle is controlled to operate. However, the method can realize only the control of the operation of the current vehicle but cannot realize control of operation of railway vehicles on a whole line.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is intended to provide a railway vehicle and a control method and system thereof and a train control and management system (TCMS). By means of the disclosure, the control of the operation of railway vehicles on the whole line can be realized.

According to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a railway vehicle control method is provided. The method includes: receiving a information of a target railway vehicle and a current speed of a current railway vehicle, the target railway vehicle is in front of the current railway vehicle; controlling, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and transmitting the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

Optionally, the current railway vehicle includes a TCMS and a signal system, and the controlling the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle includes determining, by the TCMS, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and redundantly controlling, by the TCMS and the signal system, the current railway vehicle to operate.

Optionally, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the controlling the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle includes: controlling the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; controlling the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; controlling the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; controlling the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determining whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to accelerate; if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, determining whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, controlling the current railway vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, controlling the current railway vehicle to perform safety braking, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

According to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a TCMS is provided. The TCMS includes: a receiving module, configured to receive information of a target railway vehicle in front of a current railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle; a control module, configured to control, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and a communication module, configured to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

Optionally, the communication module is implemented by a signal system of the current railway vehicle. The signal system and the control module redundantly control the current railway vehicle to operate.

Optionally, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the control module is configured to: control the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; control the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determine whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

According to a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a railway vehicle is provided. The railway vehicle includes the TCMS described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, a railway vehicle control system is provided. The railway vehicle control system includes: a TCMS, installed on a current railway vehicle and configured to: receive information of a target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle, control, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle, and transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server; an obstacle detection apparatus, mounted to the current railway vehicle and configured to: detect the information of the target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle, and transmit the detected information of the target railway vehicle to the TCMS; and the central server, located outside the current railway vehicle and configured to: receive the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle from the TCMS, and transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

Optionally, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the TCMS is configured to: control the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; control the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determine whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

Optionally, the obstacle detection apparatus includes at least one of a radar apparatus, a visual apparatus, an infrared apparatus, or a global positioning system (GPS).

According to the above technical solutions, since the current railway vehicle can be controlled based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed of the current railway vehicle to operate, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be determined, and the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server, so that the target railway vehicle can operate based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. In this way, the linkage control of the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle in the front can be realized. Therefore, collision can be effectively avoided, or collision losses can be reduced, the actions of railway vehicles on the whole line can be effectively controlled, and the operation efficiency of the railway vehicles on the whole line can be guaranteed. In addition, workers in a control center can further acquire the conditions of the railway vehicles on the whole line timely from the central server, to assign staff in time for handling.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described in detail in the following detailed description part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are intended to provide further understanding of the present disclosure and constitute a part of this specification. The accompanying drawings and the specific implementations below are used together for explaining the present disclosure rather than constituting a limitation to the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a railway vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a train control and management system (TCMS) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a railway vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of controlling a railway vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a railway vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a railway vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a working flowchart of the railway vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes the specific implementations of the present disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific implementations described herein are merely used to describe and explain the present disclosure but are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

Before describing the embodiments according to the present disclosure in detail, the meanings of related terms used in the present disclosure are first explained.

Stopping-based braking means controlling, by means of safety braking, a railway vehicle to decelerate until the railway vehicle stops. Safety braking means that the electric braking does not work, and only the mechanical braking works. A braking deceleration depends on the performance of a mechanical braking product of the railway vehicle, for example, may be 1.2 m/s2.

Slowing-based braking means calculating a deceleration instruction according to the braking performance of a railway vehicle and a relative distance S0 between the railway vehicle and a target railway vehicle in the front, and controlling the railway vehicle to decelerate according to a deceleration in the calculated deceleration instruction until the railway vehicle stops.

Service braking means controlling, by means of service braking, a railway vehicle to decelerate until the railway vehicle stops. Service braking means that both electric braking and the mechanical braking work. A braking deceleration depends on the performance of a mechanical braking product of the railway vehicle, for example, may be 1.0 m/s2.

A theoretical braking distance S is a braking distance calculated theoretically based on a current speed of the railway vehicle.

A tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS is a distance within which two stopping vehicles can barely avoid a collision. The tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS is a positive number, and is set in consideration of a detection reaction time of the target railway vehicle and a control reaction time of the current railway vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a railway vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the method includes the following steps S11 to S13. The method may be performed by a train control and management system (TCMS) on a railway vehicle.

Step S11: Receiving a information of a target railway vehicle in front of a current railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle. The information of the target railway vehicle may be acquired from an obstacle detection apparatus mounted to the current railway vehicle. The obstacle detection apparatus may include a radar apparatus such as a laser radar or a millimeter wave radar, a visual apparatus such as a camera, an infrared apparatus, an ultrasonic testing apparatus, a global positioning system (GPS), and the like.

Step S12: Controlling, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

Step S13: Transmitting the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. The operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is, for example, to require the target railway vehicle in the front to accelerate, decelerate, or the like.

In the present disclosure, the central server is a server that can manage railway vehicles on a whole line. The central server is located outside the current railway vehicle.

According to the above technical solutions, since the current railway vehicle can be controlled based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed of the current railway vehicle to operate, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be determined, and the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server, so that the target railway vehicle can operate based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. In this way, the linkage control of the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle in the front can be realized. Therefore, collision can be effectively avoided, or collision losses can be reduced, the actions of railway vehicles on the whole line can be effectively controlled, and the operation efficiency of the railway vehicles on the whole line can be guaranteed. In addition, workers in a control center can further acquire the conditions of the railway vehicles on the whole line timely from the central server, to assign staff in time for handling.

In an implementation, the current railway vehicle includes a TCMS and a signal system. The signal system is described in detail below. Therefore, in step S12, the TCMS may determine the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle, and the TCMS and the signal system redundantly control the current railway vehicle to operate. In this way, dual control can be realized, and collision can be avoided more effectively or more collision losses can be reduced.

In an implementation, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance S0 between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle. The relative speed is a vector. Generally, a positive value or a negative value of the relative speed is used to represent approaching each other or moving away from each other. In the present disclosure, a negative relative speed, that is, a relative speed less than 0 is used to represent moving away from each other. However, it does not necessarily mean that a speed of the current vehicle is less than a speed of the target railway vehicle in the front. A positive relative speed, that is, a relative speed greater than 0 is used to represent approaching each other. Step S12 of controlling the current railway vehicle to operate and determining the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle may include the following:

(1) When the relative speed is less than 0, it indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle move away from each other. Therefore, collision will not occur, and the current railway vehicle is controlled to maintain a current operating state. In addition, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is not required to be transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server. That is to say, the target railway vehicle is only required to operate according to requirements thereof.

(2) When the relative speed is equal to 0, it indicates that the relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle remains unchanged. In this case, collision will not occur, and the current railway vehicle is controlled to maintain the current operating state. In addition, it may be determined that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

(3) When the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, it indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle are traveling toward each other. In this case, the current railway vehicle is controlled to perform stopping-based braking, and it is determined that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking.

(4) When the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed, it indicates that the target railway vehicle is in a stationary state. In this case, the current railway vehicle is controlled to perform slowing-based braking.

(5) When the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current speed, it indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle are traveling in a same direction, and a current speed of the target railway vehicle is less than the current speed of the current railway vehicle. In this case, it needs to be further determined whether the theoretical braking distance S is greater than or equal to the relative distance S0. If the theoretical braking distance S is greater than or equal to the relative distance S0, it indicates that a risk of collision is very large. In this case, the current railway vehicle is controlled to perform stopping-based braking, and it is determined that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to accelerate. The relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle is increased by stooping-based braking of the current railway vehicle and accelerating of the target railway vehicle. In this way, collision is avoided. If the theoretical braking distance S is less than the relative distance S0, it needs to be further determined whether a difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS. When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, the risk of collision is relatively small. Therefore, the current railway vehicle may be controlled to maintain the current operating state. When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, it indicates that there is a risk of collision. Therefore, the current railway vehicle is controlled to perform service brake for deceleration. When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, it indicates that the risk of collision is very large. Therefore, the current railway vehicle is controlled to perform safety braking, and it is determined that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a TCMS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the TCMS 2 includes: a receiving module 21, configured to receive a information of a target railway vehicle in front of a current railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle; a control module 22, configured to control, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and a communication module 23, configured to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

In the present disclosure, the communication module 23 may be implemented by using an information terminal in a conventional TCMS, a conventional signal system in the current railway vehicle, or other types of communication systems.

According to the above technical solutions, since the current railway vehicle can be controlled based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed of the current railway vehicle to operate, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be determined, and the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server, so that the target railway vehicle can operate based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. In this way, the linkage control of the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle in the front can be realized. Therefore, collision can be effectively avoided, or collision losses can be reduced, the actions of railway vehicles on the whole line can be effectively controlled, and the operation efficiency of the railway vehicles on the whole line can be guaranteed. In addition, workers in a control center can further acquire the conditions of the railway vehicles on the whole line timely from the central server, to assign staff in time for handling.

Optionally, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the control module 22 is configured to: (1) control the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; (2) control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; (3) control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; (4) control the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and (5) determine whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current railway vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.

Specific implementations of operations performed by the modules in the TCMS 2 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail in the railway vehicle control method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and therefore are not described herein again.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, a railway vehicle is provided. The railway vehicle includes the TCMS 2 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The railway vehicle may be a rubber-wheeled tram or other types of railway vehicles.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a railway vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, an obstacle detection system of the railway vehicle detects a target railway vehicle in front of the railway vehicle. The obstacle detection system may detect the target railway vehicle by using a radar system, a visual system, or the like. Then, a controller in the obstacle detection system fuses detection results from the radar system, the visual system, or the like to obtain information of the target railway vehicle. The controller in the obstacle detection system may be an independent module, or may be integrated in the radar system or the visual system. The TCMS in the current railway vehicle may control, based on information of a target railway vehicle and a current speed of the current railway vehicle, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. For example, parameters such as an acceleration and a tractive force of a traction system and parameters such as a braking speed of a braking system of the current railway vehicle may be controlled to control the current railway vehicle to operate. Specific implementations of the control and the determination have been described in detail above, and therefore are not described herein again. A signal system in the current railway vehicle may transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle determined by the TCMS to a central server 1. The central server 1 is located outside the current railway vehicle and configured to manage railway vehicles on a whole line. The TCMS may further transmit, to the signal system, a control policy determined based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed of the current railway vehicle. Therefore, the signal system can perform operations related to controlling the current railway vehicle to operate described above. In this way, redundancy control is realized, and reliability is enhanced.

A conventional signal system is composed of a computer interlocking subsystem, an automatic train protection subsystem, an automatic train operation subsystem, an automatic train monitoring subsystem, and the like, and is an automatic control system in which train traffic control, operation adjustment, and train operation automation are integrated. The signal system in the present disclosure is a system added with the related functions described above based on the conventional signal system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of controlling a railway vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The obstacle detection system first performs power-on self-test. If the self-test is abnormal, the TCMS receives self-test-abnormal information and transmits the self-test-abnormal information to the signal system. The signal system transmits the self-test-abnormal information of the obstacle detection system to the central server. If the self-test of the obstacle detection system is normal, the obstacle detection system starts to detect a information of the target railway vehicle in the front, and transmits the detected information to the TCMS. Then, the TCMS determines a level of collision risk according to the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, and determines the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. The TCMS then controls, according to the level of collision risk, the current railway vehicle to operate. The TCMS further transmits the level of collision risk and the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the signal system. Therefore, the signal system controls, according to the level of collision risk, the current railway vehicle to operate and transmits the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the central server. For the determination of the level of collision risk and the subsequent control policy, refer to the above detailed description of the method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a railway vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the railway vehicle control system 500 includes: a TCMS 2, installed on the current railway vehicle 100 and being the TCMS described with reference to FIG. 2; an obstacle detection apparatus 3, mounted to the current railway vehicle 100 and configured to: detect the information of the target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle, and transmit the detected information of the target railway vehicle to the TCMS 2; and a central server 1, located outside the current railway vehicle 100 and configured to: receive the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle from the TCMS 2, and transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.

In the present disclosure, the obstacle detection apparatus 3 may include a radar apparatus such as a laser radar or a millimeter wave radar, a visual apparatus such as a camera, an infrared apparatus, an ultrasonic testing apparatus, a GPS, and the like. The obstacle detection apparatus 3 may further include a processor. The processor may be an independent module, or may be integrated in one of the radar apparatus or the visual apparatus to process data collected by the radar apparatus or the visual apparatus and transmit a processing result to the TCMS 2. Definitely, the data collected by the radar apparatus or the visual apparatus may alternatively be processed by the TCMS 2.

In the present disclosure, the information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle in the front.

According to the above technical solutions, since the current railway vehicle can be controlled based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed of the current railway vehicle to operate, the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be determined, and the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle can be transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server, so that the target railway vehicle can operate based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. In this way, the linkage control of the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle in the front can be realized. Therefore, collision can be effectively avoided, or collision losses can be reduced, the actions of railway vehicles on the whole line can be effectively controlled, and the operation efficiency of the railway vehicles on the whole line can be guaranteed. In addition, workers in a control center can further acquire the conditions of the railway vehicles on the whole line timely from the central server, to assign staff in time for handling.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a railway vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The obstacle detection apparatus on the current vehicle detects the information of the target railway vehicle and transmits the information to the TCMS on the current vehicle. The TCMS controls, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the speed information of the current vehicle, the current vehicle to operate, and determines the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle. The signal system on the current vehicle transmits the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the central server. The central server transmits the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a signal system on the target railway vehicle. The signal system on the target railway vehicle transmits the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a TCMS on the target railway vehicle. Then, the TCMS on the target railway vehicle controls, based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle, the target railway vehicle to operate. For example, the TCMS controls the target railway vehicle by controlling the traction system, the braking system, or the like.

FIG. 7 is a working flowchart of the railway vehicle control system 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

S701: The obstacle detection apparatus 3 detects the information of the target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle, and the TCMS 2 acquires the information of the target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle from the obstacle detection apparatus 3 and acquires the current speed of the current railway vehicle from the current railway vehicle. The information of the target railway vehicle includes a relative speed and a relative distance S0 between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle.

S702: the TCMS 2 determines whether the relative speed is less than 0. If the relative speed is less than 0, step S703 is performed. If relative speed is equal to 0, step S704 is performed. If the relative speed is greater than 0, step S705 is performed.

S703: When the relative speed is less than 0, which it indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle are moving away from each other, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state.

S704: When the relative speed is equal 0, which indicates that the relative distance S0 between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle remains unchanged, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state. In addition, the TCMS 2 further determines that the target railway vehicle is required to maintain the current operation speed or accelerate. The requirement is transmitted to the target railway vehicle by using the central server 1. The target railway vehicle maintains the current operating state or accelerates after receiving the requirement, to guarantee a safe distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle.

S705: When the relative speed is greater than 0, the TCMS 2 determines whether the relative speed is greater than the current speed of the current railway vehicle. If the relative speed is greater than the current speed of the current railway vehicle, step S706 is performed. If the relative speed is less than the current speed of the current railway vehicle, step S708 is performed. If the relative speed is equal to the current speed of the current railway vehicle, step S707 is performed.

S706: When the relative speed is greater than the current speed of the current railway vehicle, which indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle are traveling toward each other, a distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle is becoming smaller, and collision may occur, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking immediately and determines that the target railway vehicle is required to perform stopping-based braking immediately, and the requirement is forwarded to the target railway vehicle by the central server 1, and then the target railway vehicle performs stopping-based braking immediately to wait for a worker for handling.

S707: When the relative speed is equal to the current speed of the current railway vehicle, which indicates that the target railway vehicle is in a stationary state, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking, and the TCMS 2 may formulate a deceleration instruction according to the braking performance of the current railway vehicle and the relative distance S0.

S708: When the relative speed is less than the current speed of the current railway vehicle, which indicates that the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle are traveling in a same direction and a current speed of the target railway vehicle is less than a current speed of the current railway vehicle, the TCMS 2 further determines whether a theoretical braking distance S is greater than or equal to the relative distance S0.

S709: If the theoretical braking distance S is greater than or equal to the relative distance S0, which indicates that a risk of collision is large, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking and determines that the target railway vehicle is currently required to accelerate, and the requirement is forwarded to the target railway vehicle by the central server 1, and then the target railway vehicle accelerates.

S710: If the theoretical braking distance S is less than the relative distance S0, the TCMS 2 further determines whether a difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS.

S711: When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, which indicates that the risk of collision is small, the TCMS 2 may control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state and forbid the current railway vehicle from accelerating.

S712: When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, which indicates that there is a risk of collision, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to perform service brake for deceleration.

S713: When the difference between the relative distance S0 and the theoretical braking distance S is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance ΔS, which indicates that the risk of collision is large, the TCMS 2 controls the current railway vehicle to perform safety braking and determines that the target railway vehicle currently is required to maintain the current operating state or accelerate but not to decelerate, and the requirement is forwarded to the target railway vehicle by the central server 1, and then the target railway vehicle maintains the current operating state or accelerates, but does not decelerate.

By means of the above technical solutions, the linkage of the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle is realized, the risk of collision is reduced, and the operation efficiency of the railway vehicles on the whole line is enhanced.

Specific implementations of operations performed by the TCMS in the railway vehicle control system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail in related methods, and therefore are not described herein again.

The preferred implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific details in the foregoing implementations, a plurality of simple deformations may be made to the technical solution of the present disclosure within a range of the technical concept of the present disclosure, and these simple deformations fall within the protection scope of the disclosure.

Additionally, it should be noted that, the specific technical features described in the above specific implementations may be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combinations are not further described in the present disclosure.

In addition, different implementations of the present disclosure may also be arbitrarily combined without departing from the idea of the present disclosure, and these combinations shall still be regarded as content disclosed in the present disclosure. 

1. A railway vehicle control method, comprising: receiving information of a target railway vehicle and a current speed of a current railway vehicle, the target railway vehicle is in front of the current railway vehicle; controlling, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and transmitting the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The railway vehicle control method according to claim 1, wherein the information of the target railway vehicle comprises a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the controlling the current railway vehicle to operate, and determining an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle comprises: controlling the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; controlling the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; controlling the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; controlling the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determining whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.
 4. A train control and management system (TCMS), comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive information of a target railway vehicle and a current speed of a current railway vehicle, the target railway vehicle is in front of the current railway vehicle; a control module, configured to control, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, and determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle; and a communication module, configured to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server, to cause the central server to transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The TCMS according to claim 4, wherein the information of the target railway vehicle comprises a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the control module is configured to: control the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; control the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determine whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.
 7. A railway vehicle, comprising the train control and management system (TCMS) according to claim
 4. 8. A railway vehicle control system, comprising: a train control and management system (TCMS), installed on a current railway vehicle and configured to: receive information of a target railway vehicle and a current speed of a current railway vehicle, the target railway vehicle is in front of the current railway vehicle, control, based on the information of the target railway vehicle and the current speed, the current railway vehicle to operate, determine an operation requirement for the target railway vehicle, and transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to a central server; an obstacle detection apparatus, mounted to the current railway vehicle and configured to: detect the information of the target railway vehicle in front of the current railway vehicle, and transmit the detected information of the target railway vehicle to the TCMS; and the central server, located outside the current railway vehicle and configured to: receive the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle from the TCMS, and transmit the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle to the target railway vehicle, so that the target railway vehicle operates based on the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle.
 9. The railway vehicle control system according to claim 8, wherein the information of the target railway vehicle comprises a relative speed and a relative distance between the current railway vehicle and the target railway vehicle, and the TCMS is configured to: control the current railway vehicle to maintain a current operating state when the relative speed is less than 0; control the current railway vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the relative speed is equal to 0, and determining that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate; control the current railway vehicle to perform stopping-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and greater than the current speed, and determine that the operation requirement for the target railway vehicle is to perform stopping-based braking; control the current railway vehicle to perform slowing-based braking when the relative speed is greater than 0 and equal to the current speed; and determine whether a theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance when the relative speed is greater than 0 and less than the current distance; if the theoretical braking distance is greater than or equal to the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform stopping-based braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to accelerate; and determine whether a difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than a tolerable anti-collision distance if the theoretical braking distance is less than the relative distance, control the current rail vehicle to maintain the current operating state when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is greater than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform service braking for deceleration when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is equal to the tolerable anti-collision distance, and when the difference between the relative distance and the theoretical braking distance is less than the tolerable anti-collision distance, control the current rail vehicle to perform safety braking, and determine that the operation requirement for the target rail vehicle is to maintain the current operating state or accelerate.
 10. The railway vehicle control system according to claim 8, wherein the obstacle detection apparatus comprises at least one of a radar apparatus, a visual apparatus, an infrared apparatus, or a global positioning system (GPS). 